Out Our Way: It's time to saddle up and ride - Mark 11:12-25

Out our way, when Charlie and I went to work the herd on the Tiger Ridge, our first task on arrival was to unload Doc and Jet and saddle them up. Now, I confess to being a tad prejudiced, but I was pretty proud of my rig - i.e. saddle. Not the fanciest or newest, but I confess it looked fine on ole Doc. 16½ hands of pure quarter horse, 1,200 pounds of power, and that saddle just fit him perfectly.

In addition, I was also pretty proud of my own gear. My hat, scarf, work shirt and vest, chaps when we worked in the brush, and a really expensive but solid pair of riding boots just made me look like I had just stepped out of a Charlie Russell or Frederick Remington painting. Yessir, I really looked the part of a cowhand. But, of course, looking like a cowboy and actually cowboying are not the same thing. We didn't saddle up just to look good. We had work to do. 

I find that is a lesson that many folks these days don't quite understand. They put more emphasis on appearances than on actually doing something. But according to Christ, it's not enough to just saddle up, you also have to ride. Talking about loving Jesus, being saved, becoming part of your local Church - that's getting saddled up. That's where we begin, but it's not the end of the trail.   

Consider the words: "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" We tend to focus on "Savior," but skip over "Lord." Lord = Boss. Jesus didn't call us to saddle up and look nice, He called us to saddle up and ride. You can't just stand around the corral once you sign on. You need to move out and get to work. We tend to emphasize "saddling up" - ie "being saved," reading the scriptures, attending church, etc. - but often don't actually get out of the corral and onto the Lord's range where the work is needed.

In the account of the fig tree in Jerusalem, we are told the tree was barren because it was not in season. Though it looked fruitful, it was not and Jesus "cursed" it. Now that may seem harsh until you read the whole account and realize the fig tree symbolized the empty words and displays of piety which so many religious leaders of the day substituted for actually serving the Lord. As we say out our way, they were "all hat and no cattle."

The fig tree was important to the poor in Jerusalem as a source of food for those who had nothing. The hungry needed the fruit, but the tree was barren because it was "not in season." In the same way, the people came to the priests and the scribes for spiritual fruits and found them equally barren. Now, the tree had not matured to the point of producing figs and thus was "not in season." That was certainly not the tree's fault. But what of the religious leaders? Their lack of maturity and barrenness as the servants of God was not because they hadn't the time to grow and bear fruit, but because they had chosen not to. They were content to only "saddle up" and stay in the corral. 

Unloading Doc from Charlie's trailer and then, after brushing him down and checking his hooves, I laid the blanket on his back, carefully adjusted the saddle and cinched him up. This was critical and important, for a good working horse needs to be saddled up properly. But I recall how he eagerly took the bit and was ready to head out as soon as I swung up, because he was a cowpony who had come to work and not just wear the saddle. May we all remember the lesson of the fig tree and the example of "Doc - Professor of Horse Sense Theology."

Time to saddle up and ride!

Brother John  

--

The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].